Search form

Security

On 16 May, the Sahel and West Africa Club Secretariat (SWAC/OECD) participated in an EU InfoPoint session in Brussels on "Food security: at the heart of demographic, migration and security challenges". The session was organised together with the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development of the European Commission. SWAC’s presentation recalled that the challenges facing food security in West Africa should not be overshadowed by the resurgence of demographic, migration and security concerns on the international agenda. Read on

The momentum of West Africa’s two jihadi theatres has started to favour al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). The group, which operates in the Mali/Sahel region, succeeded in consolidating its position, while Boko Haram, which pledged allegiance to the Islamic state, is less active in the Nigeria/Lake Chad region. This evolution suggests that, in the long term, the Islamic state will find it difficult to compete with al-Qaeda in the region. Read on

In Mali, “the Algiers Process is painfully slow, and peace is not advancing,” noted Jean-Hervé Jezequel, Deputy Project Director for West Africa at the International Crisis Group, offering his analysis of the situation in an interview on the website Sahelien.com. “The setting up of the interim authorities is a significant step towards clarifying the division of responsibilities and power in the north of the country. Beyond local tensions, it is also interesting to note that young Malians have been appointed to important positions (sometimes because they are the only graduates). But this remains a fragile and insufficient step,” he said. Read on

Members of the Algiers Process Mediation Team, ECOWAS, the African Union, the European Union and the United Nations issued a joint declaration calling for further implementation of the Peace and Reconciliation Accord in Mali. The organisations congratulate the signatory parties on the establishment of interim authorities in Kidal, Ménaka and Gao, and encourage them to rapidly establish authorities in the Taoudeni and Timbuktu regions. Read on

The humanitarian community gathered on 25 February 2017 at the Oslo Humanitarian Conference on Nigeria and the Lake Chad region. According to UNOCHA, more than 10 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in this area; 7 million experience food insecurity; 1.8 million are internally displaced; more than 1 200 schools are damaged; 3 million children need educational assistance and about 1 million houses were destroyed by Boko Haram. Co-hosted by Norway, Nigeria, Germany and the UN, the conference raised USD 672 million in additional pledges, but access and protection in Boko Haram controlled areas of Borno State remain key challenges. Read on

The UN Security Council has established 30 March 2018 as the end the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia (UNMIL), which has been deployed in the country since 2003. Since its arrival, the mission has: accompanied the country’s political transition, supported the process of national reconciliation and, more recently, contributed to the fight against the Ebola epidemic. Read on

On Monday, 6 February, the G5 Sahel heads of state met for their sixth extra-ordinary summit on the theme, “The security situation in Mali and its impact on the Sahel.” The meeting took place against a background in which Mali's peace agreement is breaking down; there are persistent terrorist attacks and, in recent months, there have been many operations in neighbouring countries. Among the measures mentioned, the G5 leaders emphasised the implementation of a joint force. Read on

Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have a plan to create a new joint task force to fight insecurity in the Liptako-Gourma area. The decision was taken on 24 January in Niamey during the second Extra-ordinary Conference of Heads of State of the Integrated Development Authority of the Liptako-Gourma region. The region is at risk of becoming a sanctuary for terrorist groups and criminals of all kinds. Read on

The murderous attack on the Joint Operational Mechanism base in Gao on 18 January threatens to undermine efforts to achieve peace in Mali. The attack, which killed nearly 80 people and injured more than 100, targeted a key feature of the Algiers peace agreement: joint patrols. These patrols, which bring together soldiers from the Malian military, members of the Co-ordination of Azawad Movements as well as from several militia groups, are aimed at securing areas that are currently beyond the control of authorities, particularly in the north. Read on

On 13 January 2017 in New York, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), briefed the UN Security Council on West Africa’s status. Even though Ibn Chambas welcomes the region’s progress on democracy, where most of the recent elections have taken place without irregularities, he expressed concern about the political crisis in The Gambia. Read on